O'Shea not ready to fire Hall, yet

Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea said he's not ready to fire defensive coordinator Richie Hall, but says things need to change on the defensive side of the ball

It was a relaxed, fairly open and engaging Mike O’Shea who met with the media in the Bomber Store, Wednesday, to dissect his team’s latest shortfall.

The four-year Blue Bombers head coach didn’t tiptoe around issues as much as he normally does or sidestep all the tough questions.

But he wasn’t ready to acknowledge he needs to find a new man to run his defence.

“I’m not there, yet,” O’Shea said of replacing co-ordinator Richie Hall. “We do need to change what we’re doing on defence. We can’t expect to do the same thing and get the results we want. Every player on the defence knows that.

“What does that involve and entail? We’re not even close to figuring that out, yet.”

Surely, he doesn’t need more evidence.

Two years of being the most porous pass defence in the CFL – and two playoff losses the direct result of it – should be enough.

“It’s two years of giving up a lot of yards,” O’Shea acknowledged. “But also two years of over 100 takeaways. And it’s a year where we, by far, led the league in points off takeaways… there are things our defence does that are excellent.”

O’Shea began to sidestep, saying he needs to watch more film to know for sure what went wrong.

Surely someone who’s spent so much of his life dedicated to that side of the ball must have a gut feeling about whether it’s his players or the scheme that sucked.

“After a loss like that, it is pretty tough to get your gut going in the right direction again,” he said. “A lot of coaches, me included… rely on your gut a lot. I am one of those guys, too. I’m still at that point where my gut’s not telling me anything good right now.”

Bomber fans know the feeling. They’ve been dealing with it every November for the last 27 years.

The regime of O’Shea and GM Kyle Walters have given them some hope again, after a few years of utter hopelessness.

But do they have what it takes to get this thing over the hump, the way every other team seems able to, at least once in a while?

Walters has filled many holes via free agency, and his trade for quarterback Matt Nichols was a steal.

But there’s still no dependable backup quarterback, and the Winnipeg receiving corps is among the CFL’s weakest.

That point was hammered home when Darvin Adams, their only deep threat, was hurt late in the season.

And then there’s that defence.

As for O’Shea, he has yet to prove he can get through a playoff game without making a poor decision under the gun, whether it’s to try a 61-yard field goal in the final minute (last year) or a fake punt in a close game (last Sunday).

Maybe this group has plateaued.

So, coach, why should this incredibly patient fan base believe you and Walters are the right people to bring a championship back to Winnipeg?

There was a full three-second pause as O’Shea considered the question.

“That is a difficult question to answer,” he finally said. “Because I truly believe we’ve got to show ’em. We’ve got to start winning at the end of the year, win playoff games and get there. I’m not trying to sell anybody on that.

“When fans come to this park, they see a group of players that are busting their ass to win games, and they’re doing it for the right reasons and they’re playing hard for each other.”

That’s great. But a few more years of having everybody get along great while coming up short every November won’t cut it. “Everybody wants more than that,” the coach agreed. “Every fan, every player, everybody in this building. Everybody in this shop right now wants more than that.”

He looked around. It was a slow day in the Bomber Store.

But one fan was there to collect. He’d won more than $60,000 in Sunday’s 50-50 draw, and wanted his picture taken with the coach.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.